Last year a new Junior Journalists program was funded by the Alameda County Behavioral Health Department in partnership with Three Valleys Community Foundation. The program’s mission is to develop young journalists for the future and to empower them to educate others about the risks and resources associated with substance abuse, according to program creator and head Steve McCoy-Thompson. The program trains young people in the craft of journalism through media internships that teach them how to be journalists and then helps them communicate with peers through articles and videos that touch on different aspects of the opioid crisis.

McCoy-Thompson became head of the program as President of Mpower Consulting, which advises nonprofits on strategic growth and impact measurement. “The idea for the program grew out of McCoy-Thompson's work with a nonprofit called Tha Town,” according to Independentnews.com reporter Vivien Wenneker. “The Oakland-based organization was created by Justin Standley to be a digital resource during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many residents were struggling with not knowing where to find help and resources.

McCoy-Thompson helped connect the organization with high school students who could work as journalists and contribute to Tha Town’s digital resource.”

“The opioid epidemic continues to devastate Alameda County, particularly among teens and young adults,” wrote Gina Channell Wilcox, President and Publisher of nonprofit Embarcadero Media/East Bay Division, after the program was announced. “Opioid-related emergency department visits for individuals 15– to 24-years old have increased significantly in the past five years, with fentanyl contributing significantly to the rise in overdoses.”

In addition to McCoy-Thompson and Standley, Channell Wilcox also plays an important role in the program. Last summer 35 high school students from throughout Alameda County kicked off the first training group; a third of them were Tri-Valley students. Under the program, they received professional training in journalism, and their content was published across Embarcadero Media/East Bay Division properties such as PleasantonWeekly.com and LivermoreVine.com. Students receive their training entirely through an online-video-based technology. Basic principles of creating multimedia content are taught by Standley while journalistic skills are taught by Channell Wilcox.

“We provide training to the students about what good journalism looks like, including how to conduct a good interview, how to cite your sources, and we encourage them to bring their unique voice and perspective to the program,” McCoy-Thompson told Wenneker.

“We are coordinating with schools throughout Alameda County and particularly with Amador Valley, Foothill, Dublin, Emerald, and Granada high schools to educate youth about the risks of substance abuse,” notes McCoy-Thompson. “We are on track to reach over 100,000 views of our content throughout the region and are reaching people who need to hear this information from their peers. This program is truly unique as we train youth to become effective journalists–and hopefully reinvigorate a struggling sector–and also address youth drug and opioid abuse in the region.”

The Junior Journalist program plans to host an awards ceremony to celebrate the work of its young journalists at the Las Positas College Journalism Department’s Literary Arts Festival. The sixth annual festival will be held May 2, 2026 at Las Positas College. More information about the festival will be available later in the year at www.laspositascollege.edu/literary-festival/index.php.

“I am particularly excited about working with young people who are interested in journalism,” according to Channell Wilcox. “Let’s face it–local journalism is threatened. With newsrooms closing almost on a daily basis, venture capitalists buying struggling news groups and gutting the newsrooms and hundreds of employees being laid off every year, this is a perfect opportunity to mentor the next generation of journalists.”

For more information about the program, please visit www.instagram.com/jrjournalists_thatown.

For examples of traditional and multimedia work done by Junior Journalist students, please visit www.pleasantonweekly.com/alameda-opioid-crisis.

Students interested in future internships and training through the Junior Journalists program can contact Steve McCoy-Thompson directly at smccoythompson@gmail.com.